Small Business Sales on the Rise in Southern California

Posted by admin  at May 6th, 2014

According to BizBuySell, sales of small businesses continued at high levels in the first quarter of 2014. The first quarter of 2013 is seen as the catalyst for this trend. Business brokers reported 1,726 closed transactions for Q1 2014. This figure marks the fifth straight month that sales exceeded the 1,600 mark. Activity like this has not been seen since the beginning of the recession in 2008.

Once the recession hit, small business transaction activity fell significantly. Total transactions for 2009 to 2010 reached an average of 1,126 transactions per quarter. The period of 2011 to 2012 saw a marginal improvement of 1,182 transactions per quarter. The last five quarters have seen the average sales figures reach 1,756, which is 52 percent more activity per quarter than the period of 2009 to 2012.

The median asking price for small businesses in Q1 2014 was $199,000. The median sale price for these businesses was relatively close to the asking figure — $175,000. This is nearly $25,000 higher than median sale prices seen in the period of 2010 to 2012.

Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles/how-to/sell-a-business/2014/04/sales-of-small-businesses-remain-on-growth-trend.html